His nightmare ended last weekend.
The squirrel monkey, stolen and found in Beauvais, belonged to the zoological park of La Londe-les-Maures (Var).
After a journey of several hundred kilometers to reach the Oise, the animal, also called sapajou, was snatched from the hands of its thieves and handed over to the authorities.
The French Biodiversity Office was able to certify to the Beauvais public prosecutor's office the origin of the primate, while two men were arrested and placed in police custody on Saturday.
Also read: One of the fourteen monkeys stolen in the south of France found in the Oise?
This confirmation has a consequence, on a legal level: the offense of concealment of theft is now retained, in addition to the illegal detention of a protected species.
The legal fate of the two individuals involved has not yet been decided, according to the prosecution.
According to the French animal protection federation, the squirrel monkey taken in by the authorities was transferred to a specialized center in Aisne.
He could stay there for a few weeks to get back into shape and to avoid inflicting further stress related to the trip.
Two other monkeys wanted in the region?
Since the disappearance of 14 monkeys at the end of January, four animals have been recovered in the Marseille region.
According to information from the daily La Provence, a 19-year-old suspect was arrested this Tuesday in a city in the southern districts of Marseille.
Among the primates still missing, the Oisian trail still seems relevant.
According to animal protection, one of the stolen sapajous could be in the department, while another would have been taken to the neighboring department of Somme.
In the Var, after the disappearance of the animals, the local gendarmerie launched a call for witnesses to try to find the primates as quickly as possible.
The stress caused by their capture can have disastrous effects on their health.
Like many protected species, these little monkeys native to the Amazon are coveted by animal traffickers.
Via social networks, they can earn several thousand euros from the black market sale of these animals.
In 2020, fifteen golden-headed monkeys were stolen in Val-d'Oise, before investigators found their trace in videos broadcast on the social network Snapchat.
It is also on this network that the two Oisian suspects had acquired their sapajou.